GE Capital is to buy debt-ridden Japan Leasing, in what could be the largest acquisition of a Japanese company by a foreign investor.
Japan Leasing - part-owner of about 10 commercial aircraft - went into receivership in September because of bad debts in its real-estate portfolio. It is a subsidiary of the Long Term Credit Bank of Japan, which was nationalised to avoid bankruptcy caused by bad loans.
Japan Leasing was a leading arranger of Japanese leveraged leases on aircraft until the system was closed by the National Tax Authority and the finance ministry. Local press reports say the deal is worth a little less than the Japanese company's asset value of ´800 billion ($7 billion). Detailed terms of the sale have not been disclosed.
Source: Flight International
